4 Vital Tips for Hikers

Hiking provides hundreds of thousands of people with a great deal of pleasure and a sense of adventure each year and ninety-nine percent of the time it is far from hazardous. But, people do have accidents and get lost from time to time and it can become a very dangerous activity very quickly if you are not prepared.

Here are just 4 basic safety tips to ensure that your hiking trips don’t land you in difficulty.

Safety Tip No1 - Think about taking a partner of friend along with you.

You do not have to worry about heading out by yourself if you are taking a short hike in a nearby area on easy terrain, however, if you are heading out into heavily forested wilderness areas with steep canyons and winding trails then the possibility of getting lost or sustaining injury becomes very real and you ought to consider carefully whether it is sensible to head out alone.

Taking a friend or partner along has a lot of advantages, especially if that person is an experienced hiker. After all, ‘two heads are always better than one’ and if you do get lost or get into trouble you’re much less likely to panic if you have someone with you to help solve the problem.

Safety Tip No 2 - Make sure that somebody knows where you are going.

If you are new to hiking then you should stick to clearly marked and well traveled routes and should not stray from these routes to explore until you have some experience and have mastered map reading skills and know how to read a compass. However, it will not be too long before you’re ready to try some more adventurous routes and the possibility of getting injured or lost will arise.

As a result, you must always let somebody know where you are going and when you plan to return so that they can dispatch a search party if you don’t return as expected.

Safety Tip No 3 - Take some basic equipment along.

It is vital to carry a basic survival kit with you and your local hiking club will be able to give you advice on the items which this should include, as well as providing you with advice on basic emergency first aid steps. Here we are looking at such things as matches and a lighter, a good knife, a first aid kit and a flashlight with fresh batteries.

It’s also a good idea to have a map and compass along as well as a fully charged cell phone.

Safety Tip No 4 – Take some basic provisions along.

Water or other fluids like sports drinks are essential because you can lose a lot of water even over an hour or two on a hot day. You should remember though that water is bulky, so take along sufficient but not too much. Remember though that you ought not to drink from local streams as natural water sources may look inviting but they are often loaded with bacteria and may make you very sick very quickly.

Also do not forget to take sufficient food to last you. There’s no pleasure in being hungry while you’re out but don’t forget that you can last a lot longer without food than you can without water.

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